Spherical chess board

ABSTRACT

Claimed is a new invention, namely a unique way of placing a grid on the surface of a sphere, for the purpose of playing strategy board games. A grid is placed on the globe in such a way that some oddly shaped areas result, the result being a playing field for strategy game such as chess that is similar to the usual two dimensional chess board, yet more complex.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] There are many implementations of game boards, for such vastly popular games as Chess and Checkers. The standard such board is a 2 dimensional square divided into 64 equal square areas, colored with 2 colors alternately. The game of Chess is played on such a board, and is known around the world. There have also been many designs and patents for unique geometries to enable interesting game play, including three dimensional designs, on multiple platforms. The invention outlined below is a 2 dimensional game board design, except that the 2 dimensional surface is taken to be the surface of a sphere. This curvature poses problems for designing a game boards, which the invention attempts to solve with it's unique way of laying out the colored game board areas, or “squares”.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0002] This invention is a game board that has been adapted to fit on the surface of a sphere. This game board can be used to play a modified version of chess as well as other strategy games. The modifications of the usual square gameboard that are necessary to accomplish this are described below, as well as some of the interesting new rules of play that are required.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0003] Diagram 1 is a projection of the surface of the sphere (the invention), to two dimensions, in analogy to a Mercator projection. Note the 8 “three sided squares”, which in this implementation meet at the center line (equator). The poles of this game board are at the center of a group of 4 squares, which are the largest squares in this diagram due to the distortion of the projection.

[0004] Diagram 2 is a real 3D view of the same sphere, as viewed from the equator (“three sided squares” visible) and from the pole (no oddly shaped areas visible).

[0005] Diagram 3 outlines the possible motion of chess pieces through the “three sided squares”. The path of the pawn is shown as diagonal only when it moves via a capture (see also “Rules of Play””below). In this diagram P=pawn, B=bishop, R=rook, an Kn=knight.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0006] Geometry

[0007] The geometry of this invention was designed to imitate the geometry of a chess board as much as possible. The squares must alternate color, i.e. across every grid line the color must change. Also, there must be clear “rows” and “diagonals”, allowing for standard movement of game pieces. In this game board design, this is accomplished on the surface of a sphere through the addition of some abnormally shaped game squares.

[0008] In particular, the game board has either 8 or 4 abnormally shaped game squares, as described herein and in the diagrams. There are 8 areas which have three sides, as opposed to the usual 4 sided squares. We refer to these areas as “three sided squares”. These areas enable the board to come together cohesively and are crucial to this invention. In one implementation of the invention, the three sided squares are melded together, forming a single “two sided square”. Because this can be difficult to visualize, this document includes diagrams and detailed descriptions to show how this is possible.

[0009] The lines drawn on the sphere are not simple lines of longitude and latitude, as are commonly drawn on globes. The problem with this geometry is the convergence of lines at the poles, which do not allow for normal game play. Instead, modified arcs are drawn that do not include a convergence of lines at the poles. The details of this process are outlined in the claims below, and illustrated in the attached drawings. Because the quantitative mathematical statement of the positions of the lines on the globe are lengthy and subject to many possible variations, this document describes the geometry with diagrams and detailed paragraphs, to include all possible mathematical implementations of the invention.

[0010] Rules of Play

[0011] Chess, Checkers, or other games can be played on the claimed game board design with almost no modifications to the usual rules, or with unusual variant rules of play. However, it is important to note some rules that will enable a smoother conversion from a flat game board to this spherical one.

[0012] If a conventional (flat) game starts out with game pieces on opposing sides of the board (as in chess or checkers), game play on the sphere can begin with game pieces starting on opposite poles of the sphere. The arrangement of the pieces at the start can be changed as desired by the users of the game board. One implementation (of chess) starts with the King, Queen, and two rooks at the 4 squares around a pole, surrounded by the pawns, bishops, and knights. In this version of chess, there are the same number of starting pieces as the usual 2D version, whereas other implementations may change this starting geometry by adding a queen, or other such change.

[0013] If the two-dimensional game has a rule that applies to a game piece arriving at the far side of the board, an analog can be found by designating a group of squares at the opposite pole as the “far side”. In this way, the pawns of chess can be upgraded, or checkers can become “kings” when they reach this group of squares.

[0014] When passing through the unusually shaped squares (there will be 8 or 4 of these), usually game play can proceed normally. However, in some cases it can be desirable to not allow pieces to pass through these squares in a single turn. This will limit the possibilities open to a game piece, which can make game play more manageable. For example, a bishop entering a 3 sided square has two diagonals to leave the square by (not counting the one it came in on). With this limiting rule in effect, the bishop would have to stop on the square and wait until the next turn before being able to choose one of these diagonals and move on. Other movements of pieces through the oddly shaped areas are described in a diagram. 

1. What is claimed is a strategy game board design that is laid out on the surface of a sphere, in the manner described herein. Due to the geometry of this design, a modified version of chess can be played on this spherical game board. The grid laid out on the sphere does not contain perfect right angles like a normal chess board; indeed, it also has some game areas (or “squares”) that are a different shape, which enables interesting game play and a more even game board.
 2. The game board described in claim 1, has a grid of squares covering the sphere, with 8 “triangles” (three sides and three vertexes, although the sides are not straight lines), that enable the squares to connect on the closed surface. One of these triangles appears on each quadrant of the sphere, i.e. if the playing surface is divided into 8 equal areas (quadrants), each with the same number of game areas (or “squares”), then each one of these 8 equal areas will contain one abnormal “square”, specifically one with 3 sides.
 3. The game board described in claim 1, in any physical implementation, for the purposes of playing said strategy games or their variants. For example, A physical sphere, of wood, plastic, metal, or other suitable material, with pigmented or scored surface to represent the described grid, and with velcro, glue, clasps, or other such fastening method to enable game pieces to stay on the board.
 4. The game board described in claim 1, in any virtual implementation, for the purposes of playing said strategy games or their variants. For example, graphical software that displays on a computer monitor or display a simulated sphere with the described grid, that allows users to play strategy games either against a computer, against another player, or over a worldwide computer network.
 5. The game board described in claim 1, in which the grid is formed in such a way that the oddly shaped squares (“triangles”) come together in groups of two. These groups of two squares are then taken as the same color, with the border between them eliminated. This design creates a grid with 4 “two sided” squares, instead of 8 “three sided” squares, in addition to all the normal or four sided squares. 